My Knight In Plaid Flannel
by Widget0318
Summary: A pancake house in danger, a town vendetta against skateboarders, a really bad movie, and, of course, lots of LL happiness! Just another average week in Stars Hollow...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:  This is my VERY first fanfiction, so any and all reviews (even mean ones) are welcome because I basically have no idea what I'm doing.  I'm also have only a vague idea of how this is going to end, so and ideas for that would also be appreciated.  ALSO, despite this is set right after where the last season left off I'm completely ignoring the whole Rory/Dean thing, partly because I thought that to be very out of character for both of them and partly because I wish to keep Dean for myself.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.  If I did, I wouldn't be sitting at my computer right now but would be lounging poolside with Dean hand-feeding me grapes.

Chapter 1

"Sylvia Plath"

"Mama Cass"

"Portia from Julius Caesar"

"Ummmm…" stammered Lorelai, quickly glancing around Luke's Diner, as if she would find the answer she was looking for lurking behind the counter or under a table.  Strangely enough, she _did_ find her answer in the diner, in the form of Kirk's white, rhinestone studded jumpsuit he had donned as a uniform for his new job impersonating a certain 50's rock star.

"Elvis!" she exclaimed triumphantly, slamming her fist down onto the table and upsetting Rory's cup of coffee.  Rory mopped up the spilled liquid with her napkin and promptly informed her animated mother that "Elvis doesn't count."

"What to you mean 'Elvis doesn't count'?" Lorelai replied with a scandalized expression on her face. "The man died on a toilet!  I honestly can't think of how someone could kick the bucket in a stranger fashion!"

"But the game is to think of the weirdest _ways_ that people have died," Rory instructed her, "The only reason Elvis's death is bizarre is its location.  The reason he died is actually rather uninteresting.  There are millions of people that have---"  Rory was cut off by the sudden appearance of Luke, who had come up to the table during their discussion with the intention of asking if they were planning on ordering actual food or if they were content with just their liquid caffeine.  However, after hearing the tail end of the conversation, he felt the need to make an insightful comment about the Gilmore's breakfast entertainment.

"Both of you are going to hell, you know that?"

"Hi there Luke, nice to see you too!" replied Rory with an exaggerated smile plastered across her face.  Under normal circumstances, Lorelai would have chimed in with some sort of sarcastic comment, but since she and Luke had kissed two nights ago at the Dragonfly she had been a bit uncomfortable in his presence.  They really hadn't gotten a chance to talk about exactly what was going on with them- between Kirk's naked "night terrors", Taylor's list of complaints about the inn, and an unusually large crowd of skateboarding teenagers that had apparently decided the diner was their new hangout, there were more than enough distractions to keep the two of them apart.  Even as they stood there looking at each other, Caesar somehow managed to light some pancake batter on fire and Luke was turning to go back to the kitchen and miss a rare opportunity for he and Lorelai to talk about their relationship.  However, Rory had become slightly fed up with their adolescent behavior and decided to set things straight.

"Ok, the two of you are acting like twelve year-olds," she said in an unusually authoritative voice, "And you're both driving me completely insane by standing there staring at each other like someone's grown an extra head.  You will both now be going on a walk around town and you won't be coming back until you've talked things over with each other."  Lorelai and Luke were both rather stunned by this out of character, domineering outbreak from Rory, so they were both too surprised to protest when she grabbed them both by their arms and forcibly shoved them out the door with all of the strength her small frame could muster. 

"And stay out there until you develop social skills like normal people!" she yelled while closing the door.  Then, after smiling sheepishly at the staring people in the diner, she returned to her table to finish drinking her half-spilled coffee.

Author's Note: sorry this is so short! If people seem to like this story, I'll work on making the chapters longer as I go along.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed my story! I honestly didn't expect anyone to so soon!  I tried to incorporate things you guys said into this chapter, so review again to tell me if I did a good job.

            This chapter is longer than the last one, but I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I think the beginning's a little slow, but that's probably because it's hard to incorporate much humor into a 'lets talk about our relationship' scene.  I hope you guys think this chapter is as good as the first one!

Lorelai and Luke stood just outside the door to the diner, blinking in the bright morning sunlight.  They stared at each other for a few moments before one of them decided to relieve the tension by saying something.  "Er… I guess we should… start walking then?" Luke awkwardly suggested, diverting his stare away from Lorelai and down to his feet.

"Right. Yea. Good idea. Walking. Healthy for you…lets do that," Lorelai sputtered as they set off across the street in the direction of the gazebo.  A few more moments of uncomfortable silence passed before she slowly said, "You know Luke, Rory's right, we really do need to talk.  Things have been kind of…strained the past few days- it really seems like you've been avoiding me, and unless I'm unaware of some sort of body odor problem I've developed, I'd say it's because of what happened at the inn.  Do you regret kissing me?" 

"No!" Luke hurriedly responded, but then elaborated, "It's just a little weird.  We've been really good friends for years, but nothing more than that, and now I'm not sure where we stand.  I mean I understand that maybe you're not looking for a relationship right now, and I  was just a way to help you get over that idiot Jason---"

"Of course not Luke, I wouldn't use you like that!" Lorelai interrupted.  "Yea, I did just break up with Jason, and I can see why right now isn't exactly the time to choose to get involved with someone else, but…I don't know.  Everything's gotten so crazy."  She looked away for a moment before smiling and adding, "And don't call Jason an idiot.  We may not be dating anymore but I would prefer it if you didn't feel the need to completely trash my taste in guys."

Luke raised an eyebrow and said, "Well I'm not trying to offend you but in my book any guy who is unable to understand the phrase 'go away' falls under the category of idiot. Come on, three-year-olds can go away when they're told to."

Lorelai gave him a good-natured shove off of the curb, and laughed at him until he regained his balance enough to do the same to her.  Unfortunately for Lorelai, a boy on a skateboard had turned the corner and was hurling down the street towards her.  Seeing that she wouldn't have time to dodge out of the way, Lorelai closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, which surprisingly never came.  Luke had grabbed her by both arms and pulled her towards him with such force that they both toppled to the ground.  As the teenage torpedo sped away, Lorelai opened her eyes to see Luke frantically checking her over to see if she was hurt.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his anxious eyes staring down at her.

Lorelai looked back up at him with a bemused expression on her face.  "Luke, it was a skateboard, not a bus. Chill. I'm fine."  Luke's uneasy façade lessened somewhat, but neither he nor Lorelai made an effort to get off of the ground.  In fact, they had begun to slowly pull closer together when they were interrupted by a grey-haired, conservative looking man in a sweater vest came zooming towards them on shiny red motorized scooter.

"I've told everybody in town that if we didn't commit to drastic action to control those dangerous hoodlums we would have a price to pay, but did they listen to me? Nooooooo," grumbled Taylor, completely oblivious to the intimate moment he had cut short.  "Now look at what's happening- innocent townsfolk being are being run down by madmen on these skateboards- someone could be fatally wounded!"

"Really Taylor, we're okay," Lorelai said in response to his irrational rant, "No fatal wounds here- we're not even maimed or anything."

Taylor looked slightly abashed that his prime argument against the skateboarding hooligans was, in fact, completely uninjured, but appeared to find one last shred of hope by asking, "Then why are you both still lying on the ground?"

Lorelai and Luke both promptly turned a rather florescent shade of pink, realizing that they were still in what most people would think to be a rather compromising position.  They gawkily stumbled to their feet as quickly as they could and brushed the grass off of their clothes while they avoided Taylor's dubious gaze.  After several seconds of standing like this, Luke decided to break the silence by asking Taylor "What's with the scooter?"

Taylor quickly forgot any suspicions he had previously been thinking about when asked about his new mode of transportation.  "THIS, my dear friends, is not just a scooter- it's a top of the line, imported MOTORIZED scooter I purchased in case an occurrence in Stars Hollow that would require my personal attention took place.  I finally brought it out of the box this morning so I can patrol the town in search of those crazy skateboarding punks. Now where did that last one go…" 

Lorelai stifled her laughter as she exchanged an amused look with Luke.  "He disappeared down the street about five minutes ago Taylor.  If you want to catch him, I'd head out after him right away."

Taylor fastened his red, shiny, matching helmet around his head and turned to Lorelai, saying, "You're right.  I'm off to catch him."  He then gave both Lorelai and Luke a very stern look and said, "Remember, only YOU can prevent our pleasant, serene, close-knit town from being overrun by street rats and completely going to the dogs."

"Well that was an interesting take on Smokey the bear's slogan," Luke stated while watching Taylor ride away at a pace easily equaled by a baby snail.  He turned to Lorelai and watched her watching Taylor slowly creep down the street until she turned and noticed him. 

"Luke…" she uncomfortably said, and seeing that he didn't understand her reluctance, continued, "I don't think it's a very good idea to be, well, public about this whole us thing.  I mean, you know how everyone in this town is about gossip- if one person who isn't as oblivious as Taylor is sees us lying on the ground together, everyone will think we're sleeping together within the hour.  Plus we aren't even sure if we're going anywhere with this, so---"

"Yea, you're right. I  agree," Luke interrupted.  Secretly, he'd been hurt by Lorelai's last comment.  He'd thought, after what she'd said before the skateboarding incident, that she was interested in him, even if she was a little confused.  Now he wasn't so sure. "Well, I should probably get back to the diner," he said, eager to get away from Lorelai and the way he was feeling at the moment and in need of a little time to think.  "I should probably make sure Caesar hasn't burned down the whole place with the whole pancake batter thing."

As he started to head back to the diner, Lorelai called out after him, "Wait, we haven't finished discussing everything yet! What will I tell Rory when she asks?"

"Just tell her we worked everything out.  We'll talk at the movies tomorrow, if you're still interested in seeing one.  Seven alright?"

            "Um….sure, I'm still going.  Seven's---" Lorelai stopped, interrupted by Luke entering the Diner and slamming the door behind him.

            "Seven's fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:  To the few of you that have reviewed my story- thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!  I really appreciate the input, and I try to use your suggestions in the story.  It feels great to know that there are actually people out there that care about what I write.  To those of you that have yet to review- PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASE do so- I'm starting to develop an inferiority complex because of the lack of reviews (they like everyone else's stories and no one likes mine!!!! Waaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!)

Disclaimer:  I still don't own Gilmore Girls.  Damn it.

"And you thought sticking your parents in here was a good idea why?"  Sookie asked Lorelai as they spent their fifth straight day at the Dragonfly peeling post-its left by Emily Gilmore off various places in the bungalow.

            "It seemed like a good idea at the time," Lorelai responded with a dubious look at the paper she had pulled out of a pillow that had something about sandpaper, bed sheets, and fabric softener written on it.  Since Lorelai had felt the need to "help" out her mother with her marriage in a rather unwanted way, Emily felt the need to return the favor in much the same manner by placing sticky notes with suggestions about improving the inn in various well-hidden places around the bungalow.  So far, they had been found in places as bizarre as on top of the fan blades, rolled up inside of the bathtub drain, and behind the pictures on the wall.

            "Well Gili also seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight, I would have to say that it was quite the opposite," said Sookie as she struggled to lift the mattress in an effort to check underneath it.  "Speaking of movies, what's going on with you and Luke? Are you still going out on a date tonight?" Sookie asked fervently, looking as eager as if she was the one going to the movies with Luke. 

            Lorelai twisted the pillow she held in her hand uncomfortably and answered, "Apparently we're still going, but I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to call it off.  He seemed pretty angry at me after we talked yesterday and I can't figure out why."

            Sookie set down the mattress and sat on top of it, in a ready position for some serious girl talk.  She asked, "He was angry at you?  Jeez, you must have done something really bad to make him mad at you, his soul mate, center of his universe, object of his obsession, love of his life and all."  Lorelai raised an eyebrow and looked skeptical.  "Seriously, the man would jump off a cliff for you.  What did you say to him?"

            "I honestly don't know.  The beginning of our conversation was fine, even if it was a bit awkward, and then I almost got run over by a skateboard and Taylor rode around with his scooter, and then I suggested that we don't make our relationship overly public and he got all irritated and left,"  Lorelai said all in one breath, holding her head in her hands.  When she finished she looked up hopefully at Sookie, wishing for a solution to her dilemma.

            Sookie scratched her head thoughtfully and asked Lorelai, "How exactly did you phrase the last part?"

            "The part about not making it public?" Lorelai asked, slightly puzzled.  "I just said that since our town has so many kings and queens of gossip residing in it, we shouldn't make the potential relationship obvious, since we're not even sure if it's going anywhere."  Sookie stared at Lorelai as if she'd grown two extra heads.  "What?"

            "Lorelai, you're hopeless.  Thank god you have me around or you'd turn into one of those weird spinster women who own way more cats than any normal person should and yells at little kids to get off your lawn,"  Sookie said, while laughing inwardly at how clueless Lorelai could be when it came to all things romantic.  "It's no wonder Luke's mad at you- you two have been doing your little courtship dance for years now, and now you come out and tell him you're not sure if it's going anywhere?  To him that probably sounded a lot like 'Sorry! Not interested! Guess you'll have to find someone else to obsess over for the next 19 years of your life, see you when I need some coffee.'"

            Lorelai looked horrified.  "But I didn't mean it that way!  I just didn't want to come on too strong! Don't people tend to freak out when you seem like you're really interested?"

            Sookie rolled her eyes and said, "No hon, that's only you."

            "Oh crap!" Lorelai exclaimed, "He probably hates me!  If I were him, I would be so dumped by now! I've got to run over to the diner right now to grovel for his forg---"

            Lorelai's tirade was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a rather frazzled looking Michele.  "Lorelai, Sookie," he panted, "I've been looking all over for you.  There's a large, oddly dressed, crazy woman having a psychotic episode outside of the inn!"  Lorelai and Sookie exchanged mystified looks and quickly ran out the bungalow door, not so much because they wanted to stop this baffling woman's antics, but more because they wanted to see them. 

            When they had stepped out into the bright morning sunlight, they both scanned the premises for any sign of the woman Michele had mentioned.  Not seeing any, Sookie asked him, "Where is she?"

            "There!" shouted Michele, pointing to a figure running out from behind the barn.  The woman was dressed in a purple robe with many different kinds of bangles and scarves adorning her body.  She was moving at top speed towards them, and shouting out what sounded an awful lot like Lorelai and Sookie's names.  This actually would have been an odd incident, had the woman not been a rather well known figure from town for whom this behavior was really not out of the ordinary.

            Lorelai gave Michele an exasperated look, and said, "That's just Miss Patty, Michele."

            Michele nodded and responded by saying, "I know, that's exactly what I told you.  There's a large, oddly dressed, crazy woman--- ouch!"  He had been interrupted by Lorelai hitting him on the arm and giving him a warning look.  "That hurt," he grumbled, "It will probably leave a mark.  I bruise very easily.  Like a peach."

            Lorelai and Sookie didn't hear that last comment, having turned their attention to Miss Patty, who had come to a stop, wheezing, in front of them.  She took a moment to catch her breath a little, and then gasped, "Lorelai, Sookie, I've been looking all over for you to tell you the news!"

            "What news?" Sookie asked, confused as to what could be so important to motivate Miss Patty to run all the way to the Dragonfly.  "Did someone die?"

            "No! Worse!" shouted Miss Patty with an expression of pain and suffering adorning her visage, "Al's Pancake House is being… DEMOLISHED!"

            Lorelai and Sookie stared at her in shock.  "They can't do that!" protested Lorelai!"

            "And next month is Indonesian food, too!" proclaimed Sookie, "Al was going to teach me how to make some dishes!"

            "I know, it's horrible," said Miss Patty, visibly shaken.  "Apparently he took quite a hit during Lithuanian month, and was forced to declare bankruptcy.  He was offered a rather generous amount to sell the property, and he took it.  Now it's being torn down to make… a skate park!" she said, dissolving into tears.

            "Well that explains all the skateboarders in Luke's," Lorelai commented, and wondered what he would think when he found out his diner was playing home to the downfall of an unofficial town monument.

            Miss Patty regained her composure, and went on, "Anyway, the reason I was seeking you to out is because we're having a protest outside of Al's tomorrow- the new owner is coming to inspect the property and we want to send him a message.  I was hoping you could help out.  Sookie, since Al's taught you a few of his more… interesting international recipes, I was hoping you could make some of them and set up a table outside for when the protesters get hungry.  It seems appropriate to be serving Al's kind of food when we're campaigning for his right to continue to make it."

            Sookie didn't respond, because she was already to busy mentally planning the rather elaborate menu for tomorrow's stakeout.

            Miss Patty continued, "And Lorelai, I need you to do the most important job we have.  Seeing how most people around town know you and your voice tends to, well, carry, I was wondering if you would lead the protest- be our spokeswoman, I suppose."

            "You're just asking me to do this because I have a big mouth, aren't you?" Lorelai asked.  Miss Patty was trying to think of a polite way to answer this question in the affirmative, when Lorelai said, "Not that I have a problem with that.  Of course I'll do it, Miss Patty.  Anything to keep our town's only international pancake house open."

            "Oh thank you girls SO much!" Miss Patty gushed, grabbing both of them and pulling them into a bone-crushing hug.  "You don't know HOW much I appreciate it!  I knew I could count on you!  Thank you Thank you THANK YOU and I'll see you tomorrow morning at seven thirty," She shouted over her shoulder.  "I'm off to get more recruits!"

            "Seven thirty in the MORNING!" Lorelai exclaimed.  "But it's a Saturday! Is it too late to back out of this?" Sookie shrugged, laughing, and they both headed back into the bungalow.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:  'ello readers! Sorry this chapter took longer than the others to post… I finally started doing my summer homework (death to my A.P. History teacher!!!) so I have less time to write.  Anyway, to those of you who reviewed….THANK YOU!!!!! You are my heroes!!!!! I am forever in your debt!!!!!!!  To those of you who didn't review…the time has come for me to beg shamelessly for your opinions, so…. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, although I have been searching for it on e-bay

Chapter 4

Lorelai Gilmore was frantically racing around her house, wearing nice jeans, her flannel ducky pajama top and one shoe.  She passed Rory's bedroom, slid to a stop, and backtracked enough for her to stick her head into her daughter's room and scream "My accessories are revolting!" 

            Rory skeptically raised an eyebrow, and Lorelai elaborated- "It's a mutiny! They've gotten sick of being misplaced or used to smuggle food, and now they've hidden themselves from me in an effort to force negotiations upon me!"

            "What did you lose?" Rory asked, deciding it was a good idea to aid her mother rather than risk her having a complete spaz attack over what could very well be nothing more than a missing earring.

            "I lost…" Lorelai breathed in deeply, allowing a short pause as to develop the drama of the situation.  "I lost my first date purse!"

            Rory stared at her, completely dumbfounded, which was not exactly the distraught response Lorelai had expected.  "What's your first date purse?" Rory asked, after finding no recollection of any such item in her memory.

            "It's the purse that I always take with me on my first dates, because it represents the quintessential first date characteristics one should always try to embody while on a first date with someone," Lorelai said, as if it were obvious.

            "Right," Rory responded, "and these characteristics are…?"

            "Oh, it's a long list.  Anyway, the purse is black with a shoulder strap.  Help me find it."

            The pair left the Rory's room, and while Lorelai headed off to check her bedroom for the third time, Rory stayed just outside her room in the kitchen.  "Mom!" she bellowed up the stairs, after sighting an object matching Lorelai's description- "Would this be your purse setting on the kitchen table?"  Lorelai pounded down the stairs and looked at the table, upon which was her first date purse, currently being used as a napkin holder. 

            "Oh thank God!" she sighed, and dumped the napkins out of her purse on to the table.  "I guess it's been a while since I used this."

            "So…" said Rory quizzically, "Do you have many purses for particular numbers of dates?"

            "Yes, but not for all dates," Lorelai responded.  "I have this one for first dates, of course, and then another for second dates that's more funky and colorful, you know, to let them know even though you're interested enough to go out with them more than once, you're still taking things lightly.  Then the third date purse is red and sexy, because everyone knows on the third date---"

            "Ok mom!" Rory shouted clasping her hands over her ears, "Too much information! That is something I really don't want to hear about from you."

            "Gotcha," said Lorelai, "But the purses are very important. Even lucky, I'd say.  And I'll need all the luck I can get to make sure Luke isn't angry at me anymore."

            Rory nodded and said, "Hence the hour-long search for a bag that was being used as a napkin dispenser."

            "Yes," declared Lorelai seriously.  "I didn't even stop to have my 6:00 cup of coffee.  I really screwed up talking with Luke… AARRRRGGGHHHH!" she suddenly groaned, "Why don't I think before I say things to people? He's probably so P.O.ed- I just hope he doesn't feel the need to go all 'Heeeeeere's Johnny!' on me."

            "I sincerely doubt that," Rory said, sympathetically patting her mother on the shoulder.  "Luke likes you way to much to beat you to death with a spiky mallet."

            "I should hope so," stated Lorelai, who then spotted the clock on the wall, which read 6:48 p.m.  "Crap!" she shrieked, "Luke will be here in a little more than ten minutes and I'm only half dressed!"  She hurled her first date purse at Rory and sprinted towards the stairs, yelling, "Hold that for me until I come back down.  DON'T LOSE IT!"  Rory watched her mother tear up to her bedroom and wondered, as she had often before, if it was possible that she was adopted. 

            Approximately ten minutes later, a now fully dressed and made-up Lorelai leaped back down the staircase after hearing the chime of her doorbell.  She snatched her purse from Rory, gave her a quick peck on the cheek goodbye, and came to a stop in front of the door.  She took a breath to compose herself, and opened the door to reveal a slightly awkward looking and miraculously, clean shaven, Luke.  He looked in at her and uttered his usual, monosyllabic greeting of "Hi."

            "Hey… you're right on time," said Lorelai, walking outside and closing the door.  "I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't stand me up."

            Luke looked genuinely confused and asked, "Why would you think I'd do that?"

            Lorelai sighed, and said, "Because of what I said to you when we were talking the other day.  When I said I wasn't really sure if we were going anywhere with this.  I know that's why you're angry, and you totally have the right to be, but I really didn't mean it because I just didn't want to freak you out by sounding so commitment-happy but I guess you---"

            "Calm down Lorelai, take a breath," Luke said, and when Lorelai had obliged and stopped hyperventilating, he continued, "You don't have to worry, I'm not mad at you."

            Lorelai was shocked, but relieved she didn't have to finish her rather long-winded apology speech.  "Are you sure?" she asked Luke hesitantly, "Because you seemed pretty angry when you went storming off the other day."

            "Well, I was angry then," Luke admitted, "But then I remembered that you generally don't actually comprehend exactly what you say to people until several hours later, so I was just hoping that was the case with what happened yesterday."

            "Oh it was!" Lorelai gushed, and then laughed before saying, "I really do need to start thinking about things that pop into my head before saying them.  What's that phrase, open mouth, insert foot? I seriously need to get that tattooed on my forehead."

            "That would probably be a bad idea," pointed out Luke, "considering you're not actually able to see your own forehead."

            Lorelai made a face and then consented, "Ah. Right.  Honestly, what would I do without you Luke? You keep me so sane and grounded…well, more than I would be otherwise at least.  If you weren't around, I'd be walking around totally coffeeless with overused clichés tattooed on my head for the whole world to see."

            Luke laughed at the mental picture of Lorelai and her cranial tattoo, and then commented, "It's getting late- we should leave for the movie or we're going to miss the beginning.

            Lorelai nodded and they set off down the driveway, now holding hands.  "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Speaking of being coffeeless, could we stop by the diner so I can get some before the movie? The coffee they sell at the theater sucks, and I missed my 6:30 cup so if I don't have some now I'll most likely fall asleep within an hour or two if I don't get any."

            Luke stared at her for a few seconds, trying to figure out if she was serious, and after answering his mental question in the affirmative, shook his head and replied, "No coffee.  I prefer my dates de-caf, thanks."  Lorelai's mouth dropped open and she began to protest Luke's coffee vendetta as he gently pulled her by the hand down the street towards the movie theater.

Author's Note: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Hello all! I'm sorry this chapter took me so much longer to update than it usually does- I had some oral surgery done this past week and I've spent the past 5 days or so being alternately drugged or in pain (neither of which are ideal writing conditions)  Anyway I'm better now, if a tad puffy, so here's chapter five!

            Reviewers: I love you all! You are my heroes. I'm serious.  sings DID YOU EVER KNOW THAT YOU'RE MY HERRRROOOOO!!?!?!?!?! AND EVERYTHING I'D LIKE TO BEEEE…… (wow, maybe I still am a little woozy from the painkillers)

            To everyone that hasn't reviewed: I told you I was going to keep begging- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.  I'm sixteen.  What are you, stupid?

Chapter 5

            "Oh. My. GOD."

Lorelai and Luke stood side by side outside of the small Stars Hollow movie theater, silently staring up at the sign with matching expressions of complete horror.  An indiscriminate townsperson wandering by followed their gazes up to the title of the movie and turned, heading away from the theater significantly quicker than he had approached it. 

            The title of the movie read A Plethora of Kirk: A Spectacle of Classically Choreographed Cinematic Scenes as Recreated by Stars Hollow's own Premier Actor/ Director.

            "Let's leave now," said Luke, turning and attempting to drag Lorelai away from the theater as quickly as possible. 

            "Wait," she commanded, and he ceased his escape effort.  "We walked all the way here, and we might as well stay.  It may actually be entertaining," she said while Luke skeptically raised an eyebrow.  "Ok, maybe it won't be entertaining, but hey, it beats sitting at home alone consulting the psychic taco on the internet."  Luke raised his second eyebrow and was about to comment when Lorelai hurriedly added, "Which is NOT what I do when I don't have a date…not that there's anything wrong about talking to the psychic taco."  Luke let out a snort of laughter and she huffed, "Hey, conversing with the psychic taco IS NOT weird… I'll tell you what's weird! People who wear plaid every day! Yea!" She looked at Luke triumphantly for a moment, and seeing he expected her to elaborate went on, "Because… um…. When you wear… I mean… Plaid means that you're… stop laughing at me!" she exclaimed, attempting to punch him.

            "You seem to be doing that a lot lately.  Do you always hit people when you like them?" Luke asked, a bemused expression on his face.

            "Who says I like you?" Lorelai indignantly responded, "After all, you DO wear all that plaid."

            "Hello fellow movie veterans."

            Lorelai and Luke both jumped- a third party had managed to sneak up behind them during their bickering and startled them by his sudden appearance.

            "Hey Kirk," Lorelai said, caught slightly off guard, "Er… didn't see you there."

            "Yes.  I'm actually surprisingly stealthy," Kirk replied, "I see you two have chosen to come to my big cinematic premiere.  I have to admit, I was rather worried no one would come- the theater's owner was strangely adamant about not letting people know my movie was playing here tonight… I wonder why…" he drifted off, staring out into the sky while rubbing his chin.  Lorelai snapped her fingers at him, and he was brought back to reality.  "Ah.  Anyway, I ended up doing a little advertisement on my own."  After this statement he turned around to reveal a piece of paper on his back, which read "A Plethora- Spectacle- Choreographed- Actor/Director"

            "Uh…Kirk? Only like five of the words in the title are actually on that paper," a slightly bewildered Luke pointed out.

            Kirk nodded and responded, "Oh yes. I know.  The title was too long for all of it to fit on the paper so I simply chose some key words and phrases that I wanted people to remember.  I suppose I could have just made the title shorter, but I'm rather attached to it.  Do you guys like it?"

            Luke cleared his throat and said, "Sure.  It's…" he looked towards Lorelai desperately. 

            "It's catchy," Lorelai interjected, and sighed with relief upon seeing Kirk nod in approval. 

            "Good. I thought so too.  Since you two obviously have finely refined taste in theater, I'll sit behind you during the movie so I can study your reactions," Kirk said, obviously satisfied in his choice of movie critics.  Luke threw Lorelai a look that obviously read 'I told you we should have left when we could,' and she shrugged apologetically.  Kirk rambled on, "I think you'll particularly like the Flashdance scene.  Part of it is Lulu, but she injured herself during filming, so the second half is me in a brown curly wig and a welder's suit…"

            One hour and twenty-three minutes later, Lorelai and Luke were sitting in the darkened theater, staring intently behind them at Kirk.  "Do you think he's really asleep, or just faking it to see if we're going to say anything bad about his movie?" Lorelai questioned while prodding Kirk with her finger.

            Luke studied the seemingly unconscious man behind him and answered, "Nah, I think he's actually sleeping.  And considering the fact that his own movie put him to sleep, he really should be open to criticism.  We could probably talk now."

            "Oh good," Lorelai sighed. "If I had to pay attention to any more of this," she said, gesturing to the screen where a larger than life Kirk was doing a rather poor imitation of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, "I may lose it.  Who will take care of Rory when I'm locked up in the nuthouse?"

            Luke laughed and said, "You say that like she hasn't been the one taking care of you for the past 19 years."  Lorelai glared at him, and then after thinking about what he'd said shrugged and nodded in agreement.  "Er… anyway," Luke said while shifting uncomfortably in his chair, "I'm sorry about how badly the date's turned out."

            "Oh it hasn't been…bad," Lorelai responded, obviously searching for something that had been decent about the date.  "The… um… theater's nice and… private," she added, gesturing around the nearly vacant area.

            "Obviously everyone else in town was warned about Kirk's 'cinematic premiere'," Luke retorted.

            "Come on Luke," she said, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "The date's been great.  All it really takes to make a great date is good company."  He grunted an unintelligible protest, and she went on, "I'm serious.  There's no one I'd rather be at a mind-numbing, plotless movie with than you."

            This statement finally expelled all of the lingering doubt Luke had about her wanting to see him, and he was overcome with the urge to kiss her that he'd been fighting all night.  Deciding to finally act on his instincts, he turned slightly in his seat and moved his face towards hers.  Seeing what Luke was about to do, Lorelai tilted her head slightly, prepared to feel his lips on hers when "OUCH!"

            The darkness of the theater had apparently impaired their perception, and instead of kissing, the two ended up bumping heads with considerable force.  "Are you all right?" Luke asked, startled and worried by her loud exclamation.

            "I'm fine," Lorelai answered, and then giggled a little.  "You know, we kind of really suck at this, don't we?  I mean, how sad is it that it takes multiple tries for two grown adults to correctly---"

            Luke cut her off by suddenly attempting to kiss her a second time, and mercifully, he had managed to locate her mouth.  Lorelai was shocked for a moment, and then began to kiss him back.  She hadn't imagined what it was like at the Dragonfly- Luke was a very good kisser.  The kiss had been intended to be short and sweet, but as neither of the pair was willing to pull back, it began to grow more and more passionate.  Luke had just gently brought his hand up to Lorelai's face when yet again---

            "NO MR. PICKLES! DON'T BE A HERO!" Kirk screamed shrilly, suddenly waking up from his deep slumber and interrupting the first kiss Lorelai and Luke had shared all night.  They quickly broke apart, turned around, and stared in annoyance at Kirk, who had fallen back asleep as quickly as he had woken up.  Luke scowled at him until he heard Lorelai's laughter, which quickly put him back into a happier state of mind, and he added his laughter to hers.  They both turned back around, Luke put his arm around Lorelai's shoulder, and they sat compatibly together watching the 30-year-old man on the movie screen attempt to tap dance, Luke thinking that maybe this date wasn't so bad after all.

Author's Note: I hope you liked the chapter! I threw in a lot of humor and some L/L fluffiness, so I think that everyone should be happy…

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!


	6. Horrible, Horrible News

  
  
Hello loyal readers! This is just a quick note letting you know that I'm being forced to take about a two week hiatus from fanfictionland- I'm so sorry, and I really don't want to do this, but I have so much summer homework, (can we say 124 short answer questions, two novels, 24 traditional English poems and a reading journal?) and I've yet to really start it, so I kind of have to stop writing this story in order to get it done by the time school starts. Again, I'm sooooooooooo sorry... I hope you're all interested enough in the story to bear with me for a few weeks until I'm able to post again! Thanks!  
  
By the way, does anyone happen to know how historiography's view of the culture of colonial America has changed? Anyone? Because that would seriously help me with a question or two... 


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hello all! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!!!!! (oh, now you're all running away in fear, aren't you) Anyway, thanks for being so patient- I actually did finish all of my homework (even if I did end up writing six pages of poem reviews the day before school started) I hope you think this chapter was worth the extremely long wait- I'm not so sure that it's as good as I wanted it to be since I was a little rusty and kind of hurried to write this as its actually been more than the promised two weeks. So, I present to you………the long awaited chapter 6! TA DA!!!!!!

Ok, well not quite yet. First I have to beg for reviews some more. I just feel the need however, to point out that I actually got more reviews for my authors-note-disguised-as-a-chapter than most of my actual chapters! What's up with that? Anyway, on with the begging. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. Why does anyone bother to actually read this part? It always says the same thing! Seriously, if you're reading this right now, stop. Think of all of the great things you could be doing with this time. You could be curing the common cold, picking up a new hobby, learning basket weaving- there's a whole world of possibilities!

Chapter 6

"Lorelai," Luke hissed urgently, gently shaking her shoulder. "Lorelai, wake up… Lorelai!"

"Murfungalumba…" Lorelai mumbled, shifting her position in her chair slightly, but not waking up.

Luke sighed, glancing exasperatedly around the now completely desolate theater. He looked at his watch to find that he had been attempting to wake up his date for exactly eighteen minutes. "Lorelai," he said, attempting to rouse her once more. When she didn't move, he exhaled loudly and gave up attempting to bring her back from dreamland. He stood up, looked at Lorelai for a few seconds as if this hadn't been part of his agenda for their date, and scooped her up out of the chair. "We really need to start weaning you off of the coffee- when you're not able to retain consciousness without caffeine, that's a pretty good sign of an addiction." He received a rather loud snore in response to his comment, and maneuvered out of the row of seats and exited the theater with Lorelai in his arms.

After a bit of walking, Luke was beginning to believe his solution for getting Lorelai out of the theater hadn't been completely thought through. Although she didn't seem like a heavy load at first, Lorelai seemed to actually be gaining weight as he attempted to carry her back to her house. Luke stopped walking, looked down at Lorelai's sleeping form and said, "You'd kill me if you knew I was going to do this, but I can't make it any further without risking a back injury, so I'm just going to hope you never find out." With this, he shifted Lorelai from the more romantic, 'enfolded in the arms of a lover' position to the over the shoulder, 'I am a burlap sack filled with potatoes' position and trekked on. After just a few steps, however, he realized that the new stance didn't help make Lorelai seem lighter- if anything, it made him feel slightly lopsided. Complaining, "I've really got to start lifting something other than plates with burgers," Luke stopped again and, looking around, found that he was only about a hundred feet from the diner. Shifting the weight of his unconscious load, he decided there was more chance of Rory dropping out of college to become a dog groomer than there was of him making it all the way to Lorelai's. He again began striding down the street, now heading for a new destination.

Luke made his way into the darkened diner, miraculously managing to unlock and open the door without the use of his hands, and walked through the area and up the stairs. He then stepped into his apartment, turned on the light with his elbow, and walked over to his bed to place Lorelai on it. Sighing in relief after finally setting her down, he straightened up and looked at her intently. She looked unusually serene and fragile while asleep- it was the only time Luke had seen her completely still, as she was generally bouncing around in her bubbly, hyperactive, slightly annoying way or angrily ranting about her mother ruining her life. 'Almost makes me forget about wishing I had earplugs to block out the Lorelai,' he thought, half-joking. Thinking that she wouldn't appreciate his unwashed, bachelor pad blankets, he pulled something clean out of his closet to cover her up with, ironically enough the Jimmy Buffet-esqe shirt Lorelai had made fun of another time she had been in his room. He bushed the hair out of her face and placed surprisingly tender kiss on her forehead. He then turned out the light and collapsed on the couch, where he fell asleep smiling.

"BZZZZZZZZZZTTT! BZZZZZZZZZZTTT! BZZZZZZZZZZTTT! BZZ---_CRASH!!!!_ OUCH!" The morning was not off to a quiet start for Lorelai and Luke. Not aware that she wasn't in her own bed, Lorelai had chucked her pillow in the direction her alarm clock would have been in an attempt to turn it off. Instead, the pillow hit a rather wobbly bookshelf that Luke hadn't gotten around to fixing yet, which tipped over, causing various large, heavy books to rain down on a peeved looking Luke. He got up off of the couch, walked over the fallen bookcase and turned off the alarm clock that was easily within arm's reach of Lorelai.

"Heh… sorry Luke," she said after noting his irritated expression, "You know, one day we're going to look back on this and--- WAIT! I'M IN LUKE'S BEDROOM!!!!" Lorelai had just become fully aware of her surroundings, and naturally, jumped to the worst possible conclusion. "Oh my God! I don't remember anything that happened last night! I think someone slipped something in my drink at the movie and…WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!?" she screamed at Luke, who couldn't contain his amusement and was attempting to chuckle without Lorelai noticing.

Luke stopped laughing, but still had an entertained smile on his face when he said, "Calm down Lorelai. Nothing happened. You fell asleep because I wouldn't let you have any coffee and---"

"Oh YEA?" Lorelai countered, "Then why am I covered up with THIS?" She brandished Luke's shirt in the air as if it were a flag. "The shirt you were wearing carelessly thrown on your bed, probably shed in some moment of uninhibited passion---"

"I wasn't wearing that shirt last night," Luke stated calmly, "If I had been, you probably wouldn't have left the house with me."

Lorelai inspected the shirt she was waving in the air. "Good point," she said, "I guess that can only mean one thing. YOU KEPT ME DRUGGED FOR DAYS, LOCKED AWAY IN YOUR BEDROOM, USING ME AS A TOY FOR YOUR SOME SORT OF SICK, CULT-LIKE, FANNY PACK WEARING, MARGARITA DRINKING BUFFET-HEAD LOVE RITUAL!" Luke couldn't come up with a verbal response to Lorelai's outburst and simply blinked at her. She stared back for a few seconds before saying, "Okay, fine, I don't actually think that. I just really wanted to win the argument and figured something like that would trump anything you could come up with."

Luke raised his eyebrows in an expression that obviously said something along the lines of 'why did I bring this woman into the sanctity of my home?' Lorelai, now chipper and perky, hopped out of bed and asked, "What time is it?"

Luke looked at the clock mounted on his wall and answered, "A little past seven forty-five. I sleep in Saturday mornings."

"CRAP!" Lorelai had begun screaming for the second time that morning. "I was supposed to be at the protest fifteen minutes ago!"

"Protest?" Luke asked, looking confused.

"Yea, some rich corporate guy is trying to tear it down to build a skate park- apparently stud wearing teenagers with unwashed hair is the next big moneymaking thing. Anyway, I promised that I'd lend my big mouth to be the spokeswoman---"

"You're doing a great job practicing," Luke said wryly, his ears still ringing slightly.

Lorelai had ignored his comment and kept talking about the protest, now finishing up her explanation with, "---and I really need to get there as fast as I can. I'll just grab some pie from downstairs and leave the money on the counter, if that's okay."

"It's fine," Luke said, and expected her to race out the door that instant. Instead she kept standing there, looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" she asked him, eyebrows raised.

"What?" responded a rather confused Luke.

She grinned at him. "You can't honestly expect me to tell people I spent the night at your house and didn't get so much as a kiss." Luke let out a bit of laughter, and then leaned in and kissed her- for the first time, they got it just right on their first try, no head bonks or naked Kirks. "Mmm…that was nice," Lorelai said as they pulled apart. "Scratchy," she said pointedly, looking at Luke's bristly stubble, "but nice. Weren't you clean-shaven last night? How do you grow a beard in twelve hours- what are you, Jewish?"

"You want me to shave it off?" Luke asked honestly, prepared to shave off his trademark stubble for Lorelai if she asked him to.

Lorelai looked thoughtful. "No," she admitted, "I like you this way. It's very rugged and manly." With this comment, she gave Luke a kiss on his scratchy cheek and bounded out of the door. She then proceeded to race down the stairs, through the diner, and out the door, not noticing a certain neighbor standing right outside that looked shocked to see Lorelai bound out of Luke's Diner so early in the morning.

Babette took out her phone and dialed a number. When the person on the other line picked up, she said, "Patty? It's Babette. You will NEVER believe what I just saw."

Author's Note: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE……… (I've gotten insanely fast at typing that word)


	8. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Many, many apologies for the long break in writing without warning. It wasn't planned, I just had such an outrageous amount of homework and extracurriculars to do (I think I may have gotten in over my head) that I had no time to write. Also, this chapter is about twice the length of my others because……IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER! SURPRISE! I know, it's kinda sudden, and I really was planning on more, but I squeezed it all into this because I don't think I'm going to have enough time to write multiple chapter stories this school year. Even though I just randomly decided to end it, though I don't think it sounds like it cuts off at the end- I hope you all agree with me.

Anyway, I'll take this last opportunity to thank all of my faithful reviewers- You all have no idea how grateful I am to all of you- even though I keep whining about wanting more reviews, I honestly never expected to get so many for my first fic. Thank you all so much, and I hope you all continue to read any stories I find time to write.

To all you non-reviewers- although I would still reeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaallllly appreciate it if you broke down and clicked that review button, I'm going to give you a break- since it's the last chapter, no pathetic begging on my part. YAY!

Disclaimer: Breaking News! Gilmore Girls- not mine!

Chapter 7

"DON'T WORRY, I'M COMING- DON'T START THE PROTESTING WITHOUT ME!" Lorelai was running down the street in the direction of Al's Pancake house, attempting to scarf down her pie while screaming at the group of people assembled. "I'M SORRY I'M LATE…I'LL PRACTICE YELLING STUFF NOW… NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER! WHERE'S THE BEEF?!?!?!" As it turned out, her worries about being late were unfounded- she arrived at the soon to be picket line to see a dozen or so townspeople crowded into a small group, urgently whispering to each other. Lorelai stopped about two feet away from the gathering, and seeing they had yet to notice her presence commented, "Jeez guys, don't be so excited to see me."

At the sound of her voice, every member of the huddle jumped at least a foot into the air. "Lorelai" Miss Patty gushed from the middle of the pack, "You're here! That's… fantastic!" She emerged from the mob and after a moment of silence she cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "We were just setting up before the bulk of the protesters arrived, isn't that right everyone?" The rest of the townspeople responded by making general noises of consent.

Lorelai looked around at the protest area, which so far consisted of exactly one erected folding table, and commented, "Well you're doing a great job."

The group quickly dispersed to their individual stations, and as Lorelai didn't have anyone to yell at yet, she went to help Sookie set up her food table. As she approached her best friend she motioned to the fellow protesters, many of whom were still staring at her, and asked, "What was slipped into their coffee this morning?"

Sookie averted her eyes away from Lorelai's uncomfortably, attempting to change the subject by discussing food arangements. "Do you think I should move the Pao de Queijo and the Acaraje away from each other? They're both Brazilian, so I'm not sure if I should keep them together or put them on different sides of the table to keep things varied."

"What do you know that I don't?" Lorelai asked her flustered friend, eyeing her suspiciously. "Was everybody talking about me? What were they saying?" Sookie stared at the sidewalk, determined to stay silent, when Lorelai said, "I swear Sookie, if you don't tell me what they're saying, I'm going to tell Jackson about the time you used his toothbrush to---"

"Okay fine, I'll tell you," Sookie broke, "but you can't let anyone know. Miss Patty made everyone swear on the eternal soul of Bob Marley that we wouldn't tell anyone. Ok, so here it goes." She paused while Lorelai looked at her expectantly. "Um…BabettecalledMissPattyandnoweveryoneknowsyouandLukeslepttogether," she said hastily.

Lorelai took a few seconds to comprehend what Sookie had spit out so quickly, and then her mouth unhinged and her eyes flew wide open in an expression of shock and horror. "WHAT?!?!" she screamed, and then quieted down when everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. "Oh my God," she hissed, "Why would Miss Patty tell everyone that I slept with Luke? And how would Babette know that…oh, damn it- must have seen me coming from Luke's this morning and called Miss Patty and told her that… but, I mean, I did spend the night there but we---"

"HONK!!!!" Lorelai was interrupted by the arrival of Taylor, again on his scooter, to which he had added a rather loud and obnoxious horn. His Dosie's market uniform shirt also had a new addition- a shiny, gold star that looked suspiciously like a sheriff's badge from a child's Halloween costume. "Good morning ladies," he said in a brisk, businesslike fashion. "Come to observe the goings ons at the protest site- I volunteered my services as a town council representative to observe the protesting and make sure everything is in order," he said, gesturing to his star badge as if it were a tangible symbol of his importance. He scanned the area and said, "Hmph…not much has gotten underway yet I see."

"Er…I'm sure they were just waiting for you to arrive before making any big decisions Taylor," Lorelai said, attempting to put off the inevitable event that is the Taylor-rant. Her stalling tactics worked temporarily, because he turned to face her and nodded.

Taylor caught site of Sookie's food table, and commented, "I see you've been put in charge of the culinary aspect of the protest." Sookie nodded and he asked, "Do you have a cart-kiosk permit for that stand?"

"Eat Pao de Queijo Taylor," Lorelai said, stuffing a piece of Sookie's international cuisine in his mouth to silence him and spinning him around to face another group of people that he set off to harass.

Lorelai spent the next fifteen minutes of set-up time explaining the truth about what happened last night to Sookie, who, of course, responded by telling Lorelai that she never believed she would have slept with Luke on the first date anyway. "Actually, the only reason I was even in that group Miss Patty was talking to is because I wanted to defend your honor," she explained.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Sure Sookie," she said, and was then immediately distracted by the appearance of a large, shiny, black car.

"HE'S HERE!" Miss Patty screamed, "POSITIONS, EVERYONE!" She scrambled over to Lorelai and shoved a folding chair and megaphone at her. "Stand on the chair so everyone can see you," she commanded, "and when the new owner gets out of the car, start yelling into the microphone."

Taylor ambled up behind Lorelai as she was climbing up onto the chair and said, "Yes, and make sure to talk clearly- I can't wait to hear what biting slogan our town mistress of wit has dreamed up for the protest."

"Um…you wanted a witty slogan?" Lorelai asked worriedly, but anything else she had to say was drowned out by the boos of the crowd when the car door opened and a middle-aged business-y looking man stepped outside. Miss Patty jabbed her with her elbow, and she held the megaphone up to her mouth and shouted, "UM… WE WANT AL'S PANCAKES! GIVE US AL'S PANCAKES!"

Miss Patty and Taylor threw her questioning glances, which she responded to with a sheepish shrug. "Wow," Taylor sarcastically commented, "That just knocked the socks right off of him, now, didn't it?"

"Give her a break Taylor, she's just tired- had quite the time last night, didn't you dear?" Miss Patty asked, winking suggestively.

Lorelai groaned in exasperation. "Miss Patty, I know what you think happened with me and… well you know, but you've gotten just a little confused. Absolutely NOTHING along the lines that you're thinking happened," Lorelai explained, and then turned to the crowd and screamed into the megaphone, "DOWN WITH SKATE PARKS!"

"What are you two talking about?" Taylor asked, looking confused.

Miss Patty looked at Lorelai and said, "It's okay honey, you don't have to be embarrassed, we've all known it was coming for a while now." She turned to Taylor and stated, "I have information from a very reliable source that Miss Gilmore here spent a very… 'fun' night with a Mister Luke Dan---"

"Miss Patty! That is so far from true it's in the same realm as alien abductions and Elvis still being alive!" Lorelai yelled exasperatedly. She then turned to the megaphone and shouted, "WE WANT PANCAKES, NOT PUNKS!"

"Lorelai, don't be outrageous, you were seen coming out of his place early in the morning," Miss Patty stated slowly, as if talking to a small child. "What else would you have been doing at his house overnight?"

"And she's wearing the same clothes as yesterday." Lorelai, Miss Patty, and Taylor turned to see Kirk standing behind them, eating something that looked like squid from Sookie's table. "I remember seeing how you and Luke were nearly the only ones who attended my movie premiere." Recalling the disappointment of his big debut, Kirk grew slightly teary-eyed and dabbed at his eyes with the paper cup holding the squid-like food. "ARGH! PEPPER!" he screamed, rubbing his eye while running away, leaving the others to process this new piece of information.

Lorelai glanced after him uncomfortably, and said as calmly as possible, "Okay, it is true that I spent the night at Luke's, but it's only because I fell asleep at Kirk's movie. He couldn't wake me up and didn't want to carry me all the way back to my house, so he just took me over to his place. I just slept there- that's all."

Miss Patty looked at her skeptically. "I don't know, Lorelai, it seems like a kind of far-fetched story- I mean, what sane person would sleep in the same place as that hunky man-toy without just a little…fondling," she said, looking dreamily at Lorelai, who stared, slightly repulsed, back.

"And this whole movie deal," Taylor chimed in, "sounds quite a bit like a date. And thanks to the corruptible force watched by children all over the world known as television, we all know what happens afterwards."

"You guys!" Lorelai yelled, throwing her free hand into the air in exasperation, "I did not sleep with Luke!" She glared at them, and then in frustration shouted, "WE WANT AL'S PANCAKES!" at the form retreating into the building.

Miss Patty looked at her smugly and said, "Well I think that you did."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"I DID NOT SLEEP WITH LUKE DANES!" Lorelai screamed, and all of the protesters went silent. She realized that she had accidentally shouted the last sentence into the megaphone, amplifying it for all to hear. "Shit," she cursed under her breath, and then heard a voice behind her.

"Uh…Lorelai?"

She turned around on her chair, and saw Luke standing about ten feet behind her, holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He looked around the crowd awkwardly, and then said, "I brought you a cup of coffee… you know, to make up for not giving you one yesterday…but maybe we should talk a little before I give it to you." Lorelai nodded meekly, and hopped off the chair, walking towards him. When she had reached him, Luke cleared his throat- all of the protesters had followed her, and were now listening intently to whatever he might say. "I kind of meant that I'd like to talk to her alone," Luke explained.

"Oh…right…yea…gotcha…" the crowd murmured, turning and walking back to their original positions.

Luke looked at Lorelai for a moment, and then said, "Er… lets walk." She nodded again and they set off down the street. "So… what was that all about?"

Lorelai looked down at the ground as she answered, "Babette saw me leaving your place this morning. She kind of assumed the worst, and then called Miss Patty, who told everyone that we… well, you heard."

"Yea, I did," Luke replied, "And I'm kind of assuming what I witnessed was your attempt to let them know they were wrong?"

"You could say that," Lorelai said.

Luke kicked at a rock lying on the sidewalk. "Well I'd say that they got the message."

They walked in silence for a few steps, until Lorelai asked, "Are you angry?"

"Not really," Luke said after a moment's hesitation, "It's just that this kind of makes it seem like you still don't really want to date me."

"That's so not true Luke and you know it!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I don't know why you insist upon thinking I don't really like you, because I do! I mean, I'm not ready to repeal my abstinence announcement yet, but I do want to date you. I never denied that in front of everyone at the protest." She stopped walking and looked him in the eyes. "We should really stop trying to hide this from people- I mean, that's kind of why we always end up arguing. Let's go back to the protest and just get this whole us thing out in the open."

"Sounds good to me," said Luke, and gently grabbed Lorelai's hand. They turned to walk back to Al's, but immediately saw they didn't need to, since all of the protesters were scattering- apparently the it was over.

Miss Patty was walking by, smiling at the sight of Lorelai and Luke holing hands. "What's going on?" Lorelai asked her.

"It's all over," said Miss Patty, a look of both relief and fear gracing her visage, "The skate park isn't going to be built."

"So we won?" squealed Lorelai excitedly.

"Not exactly," said Miss Patty. Seeing the couple's confusion, she elaborated. "Taylor went inside to talk to the new owner. He ended up buying it off of him." She looked slightly despaired, and began to walk towards her dance studio, saying, "So long you two- I think I need to lie down."

Lorelai looked up at Luke and said, "This is just another step closer to world domination. Taylor's going to rule everything and make us all wear pleated pants and ride motorized scooters. Save me."

Luke rolled his eyes, and pulled Lorelai close to kiss her forehead as he had done when she was asleep. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe- I'd never sell the diner, and I'm technically his landlord for that damn ice cream place. I'll keep dictator-Taylor in check."

"Oh Luke, you're so valiant and noble," Lorelai fake-swooned. She laughed and looked up into his eyes.

"My knight in plaid flannel."

Authors Note: Ouch. My head hurts. Much yelling in this scene- I hope you found it entertaining… Okay, I lied about the begging thing. One last time- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!


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